AMTRAK TRIP REPORT - DOUG OHLEMEIER 1999

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AMTRAK TRIP REPORT

The following is a trip report of a recent Kansas City - Arizona via Southwest Chief and return via Sunset/Eagle trip. I took roll after roll of film, especially Tucson-Alpine and Mississippi River area south of St. Louis to river bridge. Some of these pictures will accompany this report which will be later submitted to the Internet.

This trip was taken by the writer. Writer's wife flew via $180 airfare from KC to Phoenix, to save some expenses on a round trip sleeper KC-Flagstaff. Writer had some extra time to take the long way home via Texas.

Overall, the trip was highly enjoyable. Trains ran on-time at most stops, except for the Southwest Chief, which arrived Topeka about an hour behind schedule, due to freight congestion. The Sunset/ Eagle arrived Tucson, El Paso, Fort Worth and Longview 20-30 minutes early.

Unfortunately, the last 70 miles of the 3,666 mile trip were disastrous. Due to freight congestion north of Alton, IL., the Ann Rutledge arrived KC 10:10 p.m., an hour past its 9:00 p.m. scheduled arrival.

Upon arrival at KC Union Station, passengers were told the connecting Southwest Chief would not arrive until 2:30 a.m. The prospect of waiting in a very hot, uncomfortable Amtrak station for nearly 4.5 hours was not pleasant. My car was at Topeka station, 70 miles west. No shuttle service or any way to get there.

Had planned to board SW Chief at its 11:00 p.m. arrival and sleep until Topeka in coach, drive home 30 minutes, then continue sleeping. That way could sleep most of the evening and still have time to do things the next day (Tuesday, June 8th).

Instead of trying to sleep in the uncomfortable station seats (armrests prevent reclining), walked 2 blocks to Crown Center Westin Hotel, where I knew the lobby would have comfortable, cool temperature seating (it was a hot night in Kansas City). Rested there (no sleep) for about 2 hours. Could not sleep. Afraid security would escort me away. Plus very smoke filled atmosphere.

Returned to station. Attendant announced train had left LaPlata at 12:30 a.m. and would arrive 2:45 a.m. in KC. Attendant passed out a xeroxed form that explained how the passenger equipment for No. 3, originating in Washington DC, was delayed 6 hours due to No. 30 striking 2 trespassers at Rockville, MD. Mainline closed to all rail traffic due to resulting police investigation.

"As a result of the unfortunate situation in Maryland, the passenger equipment for Train No. 3 was delivered to your crew over six hours past its regularly scheduled time. We have done everything to keep your delay to a minimum. We recognize that this situation is frustrating but our decisions are based upon the priority of providing safe passage for you, our guests, and the crew."

The letter then instructed passengers to write Amtrak to receive a transportation credit coupon for future travel with Amtrak. The credit would be based upon a percentage of the passenger's current SW Chief reservation. That should be a windfall for me. I plan to write and request a bigger refund, as I was delayed most of the evening, which I had not planned on spending in the uncomfortable Amtrak, Greyhound bus-like, station. I'm sure this didn't thrill the other passengers traveling on to Albuquerque, Flagstaff and points beyond.

Then moved one set of black station seats facing another set, and lay down in between the two. Though this wasn't ideal, it was still a way to try to catch about an hour's nap, despite the loud children who seemed to be energized with a ton of caffeine.

Awoke at 2:30 a.m. upon attendant's announcement of imminent arrival. I walked on out to the platform, following an elderly couple who moved out there before attendant asked people to head toward train area. SW Chief arrived 2:45 a.m. Passengers boarded at 2:50 a.m. after a large number disembarked.

Train departed 3:10 a.m. Proceeded to mainline track, but SP/UP freight delayed departure. Train remained in between the siding and main track for probably close to a half hour. Why does this always happen at KC? I have never departed KC without such a delay. The train heads to the main line, then stops and remains in between for an extended length of time.

SW Chief remained in Argentine freight yards for the remainder of the hour, not departing the KC area until 4:00 a.m. During this delay, I had a washcloth sponge bath to relieve the sweat and frustration. I took a melatonin pill to help with sleep. I dozed off just as the train left the KC area.

Drove 30 minutes home, half asleep. Hit the sheets at 5:45 a.m. Slept until noon, tired as hell. Glad I had planned on taking Tuesday, June 8th, off.

The crew and service aboard the Southwest Chief, Sunset and Eagle were very friendly and helpful. This seemed to be in stark contrast to a Fall 1998 experience on the eastbound California Zephyr. A fellow railfan I met in the lounge between Tucson and El Paso, Mr. Jaeger (?) from Atlanta, related a similar bad experience with the CZ. Why does the CZ have such an attitude problem?

After spending six days vacationing in Arizona, I had planned to return to the Kansas City area via the Sunset, to experience different scenery I had not enjoyed before. Unfortunately, the thruway bus departs downtown Phoenix 5:00 a.m. That is not a good time, especially if you are staying with relatives (mother) in Mesa, a suburb about a 30 minute drive away.

The bus drive was pleasant and the scenery was great. The driver even provided me a free bottled water. I do wish the bus drive had not played a video. He put "License to Drive" on the VCR, which blared the audio though all the bus speakers. At 5:00 a.m., the last thing I wanted to do was watch a movie. I would have preferred a short nap.

The Sunset arrived Tucson about a half hour early. The Tucson depot is really showing its age. Fortunately, it looks like a major restoration may be in the works.

Tony Watson, sleeper attendant on the through LA-Eagle sleeper, was very friendly, hard-working and helpful. He had orange and apple juice, plus danishes and magazines, available in the first economy room next to the upper level restroom. The orange juice was welcomed, as the Eagle's diner didn't begin serving until well after the train's 8:00 a.m. departure out of San Antonio.

The trip east from El Paso to San Antonio is a long ride. Looking at the timetable, I noticed it is 600+ miles. The scenery is interesting, though not as varied as that you will find on the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. You can see wildlife, especially deer, on this stretch.

The train did stop occasionally at sidings to wait for freights, but this did not significantly delay the trip.

I must have slept so well the first night in the sleeper I didn't notice the through car switching upon arrival eastbound at San Antonio. The melatonin pill I took probably helped, as I didn't sleep as well north of Little Rock the next night. Upon awaking at 6:30 a.m. in San Antonio, I noticed a tardy westbound Eagle, bound for LA, on the adjacent track. The back up maneuvering out of San Antonio was not as arduous as I had expected. I was seated in an almost full lounge car while all this was happening. No one seemed to mind the back-up moves. I had to explain to a couple of passengers, many of whom were first-time Amtrak riders, why the train was moving in the opposite direction.

The San Antonio station is nice. It matches well with the historic station next door. I heard several comments on the train from passengers unimpressed with St. Louis' trailer station. St. Louis city officials could learn a lot from San Antonio's grand example.

Breakfast went well. I planned to eat a large meal, ordering as much as I could (omelette with biscuit and grits, plus sausage, tea and OJ) so I wouldn't need a big lunch. I was traveling coach from Austin north, with the hope of upgrading to sleeper north of Dallas, to take advantage of discounted sleeper rates. A leftover biscuit from breakfast and fruit I had brought on the train worked well for lunch.

Dinners were nice. The ribs on the SW Chief, on my westbound trip after Gallup, NM., weren't as tender as the ones I had enjoyed on the same train a year earlier. The dining car waitress informed my table that Amtrak's contracting out is dining service would mean an end to regional special dishes, such as ribs and creole catfish. What a loss. I like to look forward to surprises such as these. Now every menu will be uniform.

At breakfast that morning on the SW Chief on my trip to Arizona, one passenger at my table, a young secretary from St. Louis traveling with a large "New Age religion" group, was perturbed at the fried potatoes she had ordered. Although these were made specially from the chef, as opposed to boxed potato mix she had eaten (and preferred!) before on previous trips, she wasn't happy. The waitress didn't charge her for the woman's food. Others in our booth noticed this woman's pickiness.

Meals on the Sunset were different than any trip I had previously taken with Amtrak. After boarding at Tucson, I heard over the P.A. how the dining car would be seating for those holding 7:30 a.m. reservations. I had never experienced dining car reservations for breakfast and lunch, only dinner. Then dinner service was so disorganized that those holding 8:00 p.m. reservations didn't get served until 10:00 p.m.

For breakfast approaching St. Louis, passengers had to wait up to a half hour in the lounge for seating in the dining car, which seemed to be operating very slowly. I wanted to walk around St. Louis during the hour we were there, what there was to see, but instead spent it in the diner.

I went inside to inquire about the delay and found that the crew was serving people on only one half of the dining car. The other half had signs reading "crew use only." Other people noticed this as well. We were told this was due to budget cuts.

This didn't please many of the passengers, many sleeping car, who had to wait an hour or so in the lounge. One couple, traveling from their San Francisco bay area home to St. Louis, didn't realize they could have taken the California Zephyr, a much shorter trip than the Eagle/ Sunset. The only information they received about Amtrak service was from the 800 number. I gave them my personal copy of the national timetable. This opened their eyes. They were then planning to change their return to the CZ.

This brings up the point that many Amtrak trains consistently lack timetables and schedule information on board. The SW Chief and the Sunset did have some timetable cards, but I could not find any on the Eagle north out of San Antonio. Amtrak really needs to do a better job providing schedule information, as I had to give extra copies I had to other passengers near me in the coach. They had no idea what the next town was (Temple). One sleeping car patron didn't know we were parked in San Antonio. It would also be nice if Amtrak provided route guides. Even the abbreviated ones are better than none. I could not find any such guides on the Sunset/ Eagle, although the shorter version was available on the SW Chief.

Tony, the sleeper attendant, allowed me to remain in my sleeper room until I disembarked at Springfield, IL. No one else boarded the sleepers after St. Louis, and there were plenty of open rooms. This made for a more enjoyable trip as well. I sipped apple and orange juice while enjoying the interesting farm Illinois farmland.

St. Louis- Kansas City trains had dirty, mud-drops on windows. Prevented good photo opportunities, although conductor allowed me to take a good number of photos from the window part of the vestibule of the Missouri River between Kirkwood and Jeff City. I also got some good open air shots of one of the rivers between Herrman and Jeff City.

The STL-KC air conditioning was uneven. The car I first used got warm, so moved to another car two cars down which had good air. The menu for the café car was Amtrak's "Lake Cities Café Menu." Does something about this title seem wrong?

Southbound Ann Rutledge was 25 minutes late arriving Springfield, IL. I was ticketed to travel to Lincoln, IL, then return on next train, 30 minutes later, to maximize rail travel. But decided to exit train at Springfield, after sleeping car attendant Tony Watson told me there would be more opportunities to dine in Springfield.

I found a Lebanese/ Middle Eastern restaurant about 4 blocks away from station in downtown square. The $5.95 buffet, offering gyro meat, humus and other Middle Eastern food, was a bargain. I paid $1.50 for a large order of pita bread to go, which I had planned to eat with a large apple on the train for dinner. After all, I had enjoyed a large breakfast on the Eagle earlier in the morning, a buffet at lunch. Why would I want a large dinner? Plus grains (bread, rice) and fruits and vegetables are the healthiest part of anyone's diet. So why not eat this kind of dinner and skip the café fast-food-like sandwiches.

On the return from Springfield to KC, I was invisible to the conductor for until St. Louis. The conductor was taking everyone's tickets, and I had mine ready for him. But he got distracted by a woman who wanted adjoining seats with her children. He never noticed that I didn't have a destination tag above the different seats I occupied (due to one car being much warmer than the last car). He did notice after everyone had boarded at St. Louis.

Amtrak needs to change its St. Louis- Kansas City schedules. Passengers arriving either city on the SW Chief or Eagle cannot connect to either morning train; the mules leave each city about a half hour before the long distance trains arrive. Other passengers noticed this problem as well. I could either wait 7 hours in St. Louis for the afternoon train or continue as far north as I could and then turn around. The latter option is not appealing to the average rail traveler. I understand this scheduling change was the State of Missouri's idea, but for a cohesive national system, trains should connect. 8:30 a.m. would not be a late morning departure. Plus the Eagle and SW Chief could be scheduled to arrive an hour earlier, and more easily make the necessary connections.

Overall, excepting the Kansas City experience, it was an enjoyable trip. The return via Texas was the same price as returning via Flagstaff, so why not take advantage of different scenery?

My previous Amtrak experiences have involved trips on the Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Desert Wind, Coast Starlight (L.A. - Oakland), San Joaquin, City of New Orleans, Missouri Mules, Texas Eagle (north of Fort Worth), Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh- Altoona) and the Lone Star (Newton-Perry). This trip increases my total Amtrak rail miles traveled to 21,258.